D.J. Shaw Riding Momentum into Oxford 250 Weekend

D.J. Shaw is riding a wave of momentum into this weekend’s 52nd Annual All That’s Metal Oxford 250, looking to capture an elusive victory in the prestigious event.

For Super Late Model drivers in the Northeast, the Oxford 250 is the crown jewel, the one event circled on the calendar each year. While Shaw is a seven-time Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North Super Late Model champion, he’s still seeking his first Oxford 250 triumph.

However, Shaw is the most recent winner at the Maine track in Super Late Model competition. The New Hampshire native swept a doubleheader weekend, including a 100-lap qualifier for the Oxford 250 and a 150-lap PASS Super Late Model feature.

What has led to his Oxford turnaround, just in time for the 250?

“A lot of trials and tribulations, really,” Shaw told Racing America. “We’ve done a lot of different things this year. Oxford’s just one of those places that’s a fresh slate starting this weekend. Hopefully, it still pertains to what we did a couple of weeks ago and we can build on that and try to be even better this weekend.”

The doubleheader sweep presented an interesting scenario for Shaw. Originally, he planned to debut a new car in August 10’s PASS race, getting it on track ahead of the Oxford 250.

Then, he won on August 9 in the Oxford Championship Series feature with the new car still sitting on the trailer. For now, that’s where the new car will stay.

“We decided to leave it new for the rest of the year at this point,” explained Shaw. “We left it in the trailer on Sunday there a couple of weeks ago and ran the same car both nights. It did us well, so hopefully it’s got one more big win left in it and then we can switch our focus to the new car next year.”

Despite the pair of wins earlier this month, Shaw is not letting the success go to his head. Oxford is known for its tricky, temperamental racing surface that catches out even the best and most experienced racers.

“Oxford is a humbling place,” said Shaw. “It could put me right back into the mid-teens or 20s here in no time. We’ve just got to constantly stay on top of it, keep up with the weather, keep up with the setup, and try to have a perfect day.

“You never want to complain about winning two, but it’s very hard to win three in a row. Hopefully, we didn’t fire too soon, and hopefully we’ve got one more in us.”

A big change for this year’s Oxford 250 is that it doesn’t count towards the PASS championship battle, which Shaw is involved in. This allows Shaw to focus on chasing his first win in the event rather than points racing.

“I like that it’s not a points race this year,” said Shaw. “You never want to err on the side of caution in a race like that. The points always kind of made it so you played it safe, you know. If we needed to take a pit strategy that was going to secure a top five versus maybe a risk that could go for the win or 15th, you always went for the safe bet. I like the fact that there’s no points to worry about and we can just try to focus on winning the race in itself.”

Last year, nine-time Oxford Plains track champion Jeff Taylor reached the mountaintop and won his first Oxford 250. Shaw hopes he can also win his first Oxford 250, and bring the trophy home for himself and his racing family that has been pursuing the event since 1984.

“It would definitely be at the top of my career accomplishments," said Shaw. "It’s definitely the one thing I really have never done that I really strive to do. So much work goes into it for all the teams up here, and just everybody that comes to this thing. I feel like if you win this, you’ve beat the best. It would definitely rank at the top for the entirety of my career.

“If we could do that, it would definitely be a big thing for the family as a whole, for myself as a race car driver, as a chassis builder. There’s so many people that have worked hard to help me achieve this and if we could be that next winner, it would cap off a great summer we’ve already had.”

Fans can watch the 52nd Annual All That's Metal Oxford 250 weekend live on RacingAmerica.TV.

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America